Vigil Held Near the Clock Tower Dismissed by UPD

By Sophia Pallozzi & Summer Tyler

Students silently march in solidarity. (Photo by Summer Tyler)

At approximately 11 p.m., about 30 students gathered outside near the clock tower. Zaid Aldarghme, a freshman creative writing major, organized the vigil and walk in support of Palestine with students focusing on unity and grief for Palestinian life. As well as to bring awareness to the anniversary of Oct. 7 2023, the day that Hamas killed about 1,200 people and 250 were taken hostage. Following this attack, Israel declared war on Hamas.

The goal was for students to walk in silence from 11 p.m. to midnight. At midnight, the plan was to break the silence and have students share their thoughts and feelings through speeches, writing, or poetry relating to the conflict in Gaza. 

As students mingled before the silent walk began, University Police Department (UPD) warned three students of the rules pertaining to quiet hours. Video cameras were also spotted by students in the Student Services Building; claiming they were not there during the day. UPD claims that they, "utilize temporary and permanent cameras on campus for security and safety reasons."

Video camera inside the Financial Aid and Registrar Office in the Student Services Building. (Photo by Sophia Pallozzi)

“I feel that this is so lowkey that we could test the waters,” said Aldarghme right before the silent walk began.

“Communal grieving is the most important form of grieving, so I wanted to organize this. You may be walking silently. I will be leading with a Palestinian flag. We will be walking, we’ll be grieving, we’ll be making that grief known,” Aldarghme said before taking a Palestinian flag from their backpack and beginning to walk.

Students follow the group past the Natural Sciences Building; two students hold hands at the back of the group. (Photo by Summer Tyler)

A little under 30 students followed Aldarghme passed the clocktower, walked toward Campus Center South and turned around, starting for The Hub. Some students joined, some strayed behind, and some held hands as they walked. 

Students continued to walk in a circle, passing the library twice. At about 11:30 p.m., Interim Police Chief Samuel Ramos stopped the silent walk near The Hub to inform students that quiet hours were in session. Ramos claimed he heard about the event through, "flyers we saw on campus leading up to the event."

“We will work with you to have the freedom of assembly from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.” Said Ramos before asking one student to come forward to represent the group, taking their name and school email. Ramos then walked away from the group of students to take a phone call. A cross-campus group that works on issues of safety and security were in contact with Ramos throughout the evening.

“Purchase has pulled out all measures to try and prevent any set of active protests on campus, especially considering how they handled May 2nd. They're trying to avoid all repetition as much as possible,” said John Delorenzo, a senior political science major, “but clearly the interim chief of police does not have experience with this community. He’s kind of out of touch. We didn’t technically break any group rules.” 

Chief Ramos speaking to Aldarghme near The Hub. (Photo by Sophia Pallozzi)

Ramos addressed the group one last time, ensuring that students can resume the event during the college’s scheduled hours. “I assure you we will make sure as soon as tomorrow we will work with you,” said Ramos, “you could have your right to assembly and freedom of expression. You can have this very event. I want you to comply with us, disperse, and then if I can get a contact, then we will work.” 

Jasira Gay, a junior film major, shared her reaction to the dismissal of the walk, "I was genuinely confused and honestly annoyed. The Chief [Interim Police Chief] told us that we were ‘making a disturbance’ but we walked in silence. It felt like a way to shut down our message. The walk was great, people showed up and everyone was respectful and quiet. Admins didn’t handle it well though in my opinion.”

In a general statement, Ramos said, "As I communicated to those who were gathered, students have the right of free expression and assembly, but the college has reasonable time, place and manner policies in place. The content-neutral policy states that events such as vigils are not permitted after 10 p.m. I explained to the students that they were not in compliance with the policy since it was after the time permitted. I said they were welcome to reschedule and that Student Affairs would reach out to share the full policy. The students dispersed as requested."

The group of students officially dispersed at about 11:40 p.m.